The Social Worker provides face-to-face psychosocial support to patients and families at Riley Hospital in Fort Wayne, conducting assessments, crisis intervention, counseling, and complex discharge planning. Working closely with the multidisciplinary care team, this role interprets and communicates complex patient and family needs, mobilizes family and community resources, and models caring practices for fellow caregivers to ensure safe, timely, and well-supported episodes of care.
This role serves as the point person for child abuse/neglect, adult/elderly abuse/neglect, institutional abuse, and domestic violence cases, acting as liaison between IU Health and state and county protective teams. The Social Worker also provides intervention in guardianship, foster care, adoption, end-of-life, and mental health placements, and takes a clinical leadership stance in acute crises, using de-escalation techniques to promote safety and prevent violence.
Meet face-to-face with patients and families to provide psychosocial assessments and therapeutic interventions.
Communicate and collaborate with all members of the health care team to ensure patients receive safe, timely services and families receive necessary resources and education.
Interpret and communicate complex patient and family needs, modeling caring practices for other caregivers.
Assess psychosocial risk factors, including prior functioning, adequacy of support systems, reaction to illness, and coping ability.
Counsel patients and families regarding the emotional, social, and financial impacts of illness and/or disability.
Access and mobilize family and community resources to meet identified needs.
Provide mental health assessments upon physician referral.
Provide therapeutic intervention to facilitate complex discharge planning.
Serve as the point person for child abuse/neglect, adult/elderly abuse/neglect, institutional abuse, and domestic violence cases.
Act as liaison between IU Health and state and county child and adult protective teams.
Provide intervention in guardianship (temporary/permanent), foster care, adoption, and mental health level II placements.
Offer specialized mental health services, including crisis intervention, addiction assessments, and recommendations for psychiatric referral or community resources.
Assist with dangerous and potentially dangerous situations, taking a leadership stance to provide clinical intervention.
Support patients and families through acute crises, using de-escalation techniques to prevent episodes of physical violence.
Respond with or in lieu of the Department of Public Safety to de-escalate violence.
Utilize effective interviewing principles with alleged victims, perpetrators, family members, and significant others.
Provide intervention for end-of-life care, guardianship, foster care, and adoption cases.
Document all clinical activities accurately in the electronic medical record.
May be scheduled for on-call and holiday rotations.
Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) required.
Permanent licensure as an LSW in Indiana required.
Certification in Crisis Prevention Intervention or an equivalent de-escalation training required within 6 months of hire.
Knowledge of evidence-based psychosocial assessment, short-term therapeutic counseling, and crisis intervention for common mental health and substance use disorders.
Understanding of disease processes and human behavior related to health-related social needs.
Strong skills in complex discharge planning for safe transitions to the next level of care.
Knowledge of state and county legal mandates for child and adult protective services.
Familiarity with principles of growth and development across the lifespan, including end-of-life care.
Ability to identify decision-makers and coordinate goals-of-care conversations to support excellent care and patient throughput.
Experience adapting services to geographically, culturally, and financially diverse populations.
Ability to develop and sustain strong working relationships with hospital administrators, medical teams, law enforcement, APS/DCS, schools, probation, and community agencies.
Ability to maintain principles and practices of crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques.
Proficiency in electronic medical record documentation and general computer literacy.
Flexibility to work on-call and holiday rotations as scheduled.
About IU Health: IU Health is Indiana’s largest and most comprehensive healthcare system, with nearly 40,000 team members, 16 hospitals, and $8.64 billion in operating revenue. Our programs in cancer, cardiovascular, neuroscience, orthopedics, pediatrics, and transplants are nationally recognized. In partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine, IU Health combines research, education, and clinical excellence to improve health outcomes for Indiana communities.
Indiana University Health is Indiana’s largest and most comprehensive system.
A unique partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine—one of the nation’s largest medical schools—gives patients access to groundbreaking research and innovative treatments, and it offers team members access to the latest science and the very best training—advancing healthcare for all.
At IU Health, your personal and professional growth is a top priority. You will have access to many diverse opportunities to learn and develop in meaningful ways that matter most to you, such as advanced clinical training, leadership development, promotion opportunities and cross-training development.
